


Holly (The Little Mermaid)

by weeinterpreter



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer, The Little Mermaid - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Fairy Tale Retellings, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29965686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weeinterpreter/pseuds/weeinterpreter
Summary: Once upon a time... a mermaid fell in love with a human and gave up her voice to meet him. But can she truly trust the sea warlock to keep his word? Can love save the day or should she have stayed under the sea?
Relationships: Trouble Kelp/Holly Short
Kudos: 4





	Holly (The Little Mermaid)

**Author's Note:** Hello my beautiful readers. I am busily editing the next part of the Butler series, but then I had this weird idea of Holly being a mermaid and I just had to post this story first, haha.

Many thanks to **forthelongestday** and **HecateCiara13** for the fantastic beta job!

In other news, I have recently signed up on Tumblr. It's all very experimental but if you want to keep in touch or enjoy some funny roasts, I want Butler to say one day, you can find me [here](https://weeinterpreter.tumblr.com/). :-)

 **Disclaimer** : Eoin Colfer owns all the characters from Artemis Fowl and Hans Christian Andersen owns the original story of The Little Mermaid. I only own my imagination.

* * *

**Holly (The Little Mermaid)**

Our story begins deep under the sea. Deeper than any human has ever ventured. In the black depths untouched by the sun. The humans thought there was nothing, which worked well for the inhabitants of this realm, the merfolk.

It wasn't always like this. Once upon a time, humans and merfolk lived together in peace, trading their produce and knowledge with each other. Not for long, of course, as humans don't even get along with each other. A silly misunderstanding drove the humans to hunt down the merfolk and colour the sea blood-red.

Only the merking's quick action prevented a bigger death toll as he led his people deeper into the watery realm, allowing his subjects once again a normal life. King Julius I was a caring and just king, but not even he had been spared from heartache. After losing his beloved wife, he kept a close eye on every one of his six daughters.

His fear of losing them was so great that his outbursts became notorious, whenever he found out that one girl had swum too close to the surface or had met up with a merboy, the latter happening far more often as the six princesses were of exceptional beauty. The one girl that infuriated her father by swimming too close to the surface was his youngest daughter. Her name was Holly.

She wasn't interested in decorating her fishtail with colourful stones or sticking shells in her hair, nor did she want to talk about merboys or exchange gossip. She preferred to spend her time uncovering secrets. Like the time the algae ale had disappeared from the castle cellar? It had been a kleptomaniac weaver, who had dug a tunnel into the castle and stole a good portion of the ale before she apprehended him.

Or the humans. Why did they walk on land and had no fishtail? And why did they only move about in little shells (they called them… boats) instead of swimming in the water?

Her father didn't appreciate any of her questions or investigations. In fact, his anger was rekindled every time he saw her chin-length red hair or her plain, unadorned fishtail.

As far as Holly was concerned, her father could scream and shout as much as he wanted, she'd do whatever she liked, anyway. Right now, she was on her way to the surface, her seahorse Foaly following her closely. As they both broke through the water's surface, Foaly neighed nervously.

"Do you have to do this? If Julius finds out–" he started, but Holly interrupted him.

"You don't have to tell him."

Foaly whinnied once more. "And you know I can't. We seahorses can't lie. It was the price for our incredible beauty and intelligence."

Holly rolled her eyes and swam towards a large ship she had spotted earlier. It looked tiny from afar, but now she gaped at the behemoth.

Foaly swam after her but kept looking over his shoulder. It was bad enough that they were at the surface. If Julius found out – and he would – that they had come so close to a ship, they would be in big trouble. Holly didn't think of that, of course. Her golden rule was not to follow any rules at all, constantly playing with fire. Metaphorically speaking.

The closer they got, the louder the noises on the ship became. Holly heard foreign melodies and laughter coming from above. Intrigued, she gripped a rope that was hanging over the ship's rail and pulled herself up until she could peek between the wooden bars. Spellbound, she stared at the people jumping on their two fishtails from side to side. They sang a song, clapping their hands until someone called out and the music abruptly stopped.

Everyone looked at a spot outside of Holly's viewpoint. She noticed how happy and content the men looked, once again clapping their hands but not in tune with any music. Straining her neck, she tried to make out what had everyone in such high spirits. She held her breath when a young human stepped forward. His dark eyes were sparkling with wit and intelligence and he spoke to all of them, abashed at the attention he received from the crew.

Holly couldn't hear what he was saying and yet, she could not tear her gaze away. She giggled. The boy shook his head and lifted his hands at the men who wanted to make him dance with them. He rubbed his neck, stepped back, and promptly stumbled over some ropes on deck.

Holly kept watching the boy, trying to catch every single change on his face as he talked with all the men on deck. She was so absorbed with him she missed how the air changed and dark clouds formed in the sky. Only Foaly's scared neigh tore her from her daydream. Looking up, she almost let go of the rope as the first flash of lightning split the sky. She dived back into the water and swam away from the ship which was shaken and battered by the fierce wind and wild waves.

"We need to leave," Foaly said, darting past her. Holly nodded, but a movement made her look back. Someone had fallen overboard. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she shot back. She swam around the body, studying the human, and gasped in surprise as she recognised the boy from earlier. Unconscious, he sank deeper and deeper.

Holly grabbed him by the arms and swam back up. Foaly, who had returned after noticing that Holly wasn't behind him, whinnied.

"What are you doing? That's a human. A human! If Julius finds out, if Julius finds out! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!"

Holly paid him no attention. She broke through the water's surface and swam with the boy to the beach. The storm had died down almost as quickly as it had come. The sun broke through the clouds, leaving the sea as calm as ever.

Holly pulled the young man further onto the sand. He stirred. Before he opened his eyes, however, Holly heard voices in the distance. A dog barked. Gritting her teeth, she jumped back into the water. A group of women approached the boy.

Holly watched him smile at them and not her. She heaved a sigh, the sound producing a wild storm of bubbles on the surface. She swam back home, ignoring Foaly's chatter and hoping that she could at least sneak past her father. She wouldn't. As soon as she entered the mercastle, King Julius I was waiting, his face red as a coral reef.

"Where have you been, young lady?"

Holly shrugged and tried to swim past him. He blocked her path.

"I'm talking to you!"

"But I'm not talking to you," she said with a scowl.

"How are you talking to me? I'm your father, I expect more respect from you. Foaly," Julius roared as the sea horse tried to quietly swim past. Foaly flinched and hung his head.

"Yes, Julius?"

"That's 'Your Majesty' to you," he growled, before turning to Holly, "And you, young lady, are grounded until you learn that the surface is a dangerous place."

"What?! You can't make me stay in my room," she protested, but Julius didn't seem to care. His face darkened, tinged purple with rage.

"Of course I can, I'm your father!"

"But I'm not a little kid anymore!" Holly yelled and raced out of the castle, her father's shouts still audible miles away.

Furious, she zoomed past schools of fish and coral reefs, getting as far away from her father as possible. What did he know? Her surroundings flew past in colourful blurs. He was an old, bitter merman.

The little mermaid didn't pay any attention to where she was swimming. She only stopped when she was completely exhausted. Breathing heavily, Holly stared at the rocky gorge in front of her, realising with a jolt where she was.

Foaly, who had raced after her, finally caught up. Out of breath, he only wheezed and gaped at her. He, too, knew that they had left Julius' kingdom. Instead, they had entered the realm of the evil sea warlock, Artemis, who had been banished from living with the rest of the merfolk because of his wickedness and unpredictability. Young merchildren shook at night, scared of the horror stories their parents told them. Of the things, Artemis did to merfolk who strayed here. Holly knew the stories, too.

Foaly whirled from side to side. He couldn't take his eyes off any stone for more than five seconds, suspecting a huge monster that loved to eat seahorses behind every single one.

"W-we should go back," he said.

Even Holly was far too nervous to make fun of his paranoia. She turned around but was instead yanked down. Foaly screamed in terror at a black tentacle that had wrapped itself around Holly's fishtail. Holly swam against the pull. She tried to shake the attacker away, but the tentacle was too strong, pulling her towards the black hole in the rock.

Looking down, Holly's eyes widened at a single reflective eye, glaring at her like a silver disc. She redoubled her efforts and braced herself against the creature. Foaly swam around, heedless and of no help, and with another sudden yank, the darkness inside the rock swallowed her. The hole closed with a grating sound and trapped her with the beast. Holly clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the creature to swallow her. Nothing happened. Someone let out a low laugh, cold and unmerciful.

A moment later, the cave was illuminated by a dim light. Holly cracked an eye open, looking at the sea warlock Artemis, his lower body that of an octopus. He smirked and leaned back in his stone chair, placing his fingertips together. His tentacles always kept moving, never pausing in one position for long. 

"Holly, it's so nice of you to visit me."

She clenched her hands into fists.

"I'm not here by choice. What do you want from me?" 

"Ah," Artemis raised a finger, "The right question is, what can I do _for_ you?

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"You want to be with your human, do you not?" he asked. "But he cannot live under the sea. So, the only way is for you to become human."

Holly's mouth fell open.

"Can you do such a thing?"

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Nothing easier than that."

He studied her for a long moment before he rose.

"Very well, let's make a deal," he said, all business, gliding around her. "I'll give you legs, but in return, I want your tongue."

Holly gulped, "M-my tongue?"

"Correct. I will cut it off for you, here and now. In exchange, you can walk on land for as long as you want—provided you can convince your Prince Charming to marry you. If he marries someone else," he smiled sardonically before continuing, "you will turn to sea foam the morning after the man's wedding. All very simple, isn't it? Do we have a deal?"

Holly was undecided. "But without a tongue, how am I supposed to–" she started, but Artemis interrupted her, pressing a tentacle over her mouth.

"You have your pretty face. Besides, men get sick of women who babble incessantly. That goes for all males." Artemis laughed softly. "And who knows, maybe you are soul mates, and he senses that you're the one right away."

Holly's eyes widened, and she nodded. "Fine, I'll do it."

The sea warlock grinned wickedly and turned to a shelf, pushing bottles and jars to the side until he found a bottle of black liquid. He thrust it into Holly's hand.

"Drink this when you reach the surface. Your fishtail will turn into two legs. Have fun with it. But first," he said and lifted a knife into the dull light, giving her a smile, "to the fun part of the deal."

* * *

Clutching the bottle in her hands, Holly shot through the water a few minutes later. She ignored her seahorse, who had been swimming around in a panicked frenzy, thinking up one horror scenario after another. He let out a yelp, pushing himself to the max to keep up with his friend.

Holly, in the meantime, tried not to think about the pain, her mouth burning as if she had eaten hot coals. At least she had the potion.

"Holly, wait," Foaly called out after her, without success. Holly swam to the beach and pulled herself further up the sandbank, while Foaly kept watching from a distance and begged her to come back.

Uncorking the bottle, she took a sniff, only to flinch away as the nauseating stench hit her. She hesitated. Was she making a mistake? She shook her head. It was a bit too late for second guesses, she told herself, and downed the foul-smelling brew.

The potion took effect immediately. Hot, searing pain shot through her fishtail like a knife. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, but her legs took form. A minute later she stared at the two fishtails that were now scaleless and golden brown. Experimentally, she wiggled her toes, then her legs. Looking up, she waved at Foaly, who kept gaping at her. Startled, he jumped back into the watery depths.

If Julius found out about this!

Holly got up. Or tried to. It took her two attempts to figure out how to stand without falling on her face or to the side. After the third attempt, she stood in the shallow water and looked down at her… legs. She had legs! She spun around once. Then once more and once more until she became dizzy.

Holly turned around, noticing that she had company. Her lips flashed into a delighted smile as she noticed the boy she had rescued that stormy night. She ran toward him, but to her surprise, he blushed and averted his gaze. Peeling off his jacket, he handed it to her. Holly looked at him quizzically but accepted the jacket. Only then did the boy look at her again.

"Where are you from? I mean, you're not from around here? What's your name?"

Holly was still smiling, but shook her head and reached for her throat. The young man understood. "You're mute? Oh… hmm, well come along first. I'll figure out who you are," he said with a laugh and reached for her hand, pulling her towards the city.

"I'm Trouble, by the way," he said, giving her a crooked grin.

Trouble, who was also the prince of this country, kept his promise. He took Holly in and spent all his energy on finding out who exactly she was. Day after day, he popped his head into her room and guessed what her curious hand gestures could mean. He never truly got it, but at least he found out her name. For him, she was the most charming and dearest of all the men and women he had ever met. Soon he realised how he couldn't go a day without seeing her smile or the way she gave him one of her ironic looks.

The tender bond caused worry for Trouble's father. There was no way a child with no family, no noble blood, and no voice could rule the country. He knew he had let this go on for long enough when he watched the two pass him one day in the hall, noting how their hands touched in passing. It was that moment that made him turn to an unconventional resource to get rid of the problem. One that hadn't been called upon for many years. It would cost him. If it ensured the continuation of their royal bloodline, however, he happily paid the price…

* * *

The days passed and turned into weeks. Autumn took over summer and brought news from a faraway land on the day when the first leaves turned red. The king burst into Trouble's study with a letter in hand, startling Holly before she could move her chess piece over the board.

"Princess Lili of the Frond dynasty has accepted our marriage proposal, son. We will sail today to greet her," the king said, seemingly unaware of Holly's shocked face or Trouble's scowl. At a wave of his hand, a servant came into the room, a tray with several glasses on it. His father took two and handed them to Trouble and Holly.

"Let's celebrate."

Trouble gritted his teeth, looking as if he was about to throw it against the wall. A look at Holly made him stop, though. His father noticed it too. It was his son's scheming look. He was thinking of a plan. Smiling, the king lifted his glass, knowing fully well that Trouble would play along. Long enough to run away with his little friend. Or so he thought.

Just as the king predicted, instead of making a scene, Trouble lifted the glass. He gave his father a grim smile and drank from the red liquid. Satisfied, his father slapped him on the shoulder and pulled him out of the room.

"Let's make plans, huma– I mean my son," he said, ignoring the confusion on his son's face.

Watching Trouble leave the study without even looking back, Holly had the sinking feeling that something awful was about to happen soon. She left her glass untouched and followed the men to the ship that would set sail to meet Trouble's bride.

Trouble's father kept throwing looks at her throughout the entire journey, and more than once, she could have sworn that something about him seemed awfully familiar, without ever being able to say what. After all, she had been around for the last three months. Of course he was familiar. But did he always have this predatory glint in his eyes…?

The ship carrying the foreign princess reached theirs. They invited the princess aboard with much fanfare, as was customary. Trouble held out his hand to her and when she took it, he said, "This is the girl who saved me the day my ship sank."

Trouble instantly proposed marriage, insisting that the marriage was held there and then. The two kings clapped hands, drank and made plans for the united kingdoms' futures, while the guests celebrated the newlywed couple.

Nobody had noticed Holly, who had paled before slipping away from the festivities. She hid in her cabin until the last guest had retreated for the night, before going back on deck. Standing at the bow, she sucked in the salty sea air, frantically trying to hold back the tears. A sudden sound from the water made her jump. She blinked, and leaned over the ship's rail, watching how the water's surface rippled and bubbled. A head popped up. Then another one. Holly opened her mouth in surprise, seeing her five older sisters in the water. Something, however, was different about them. Holly pointed at them in surprise. They had short hair!

A wave carried the oldest sister up to Holly. She held out a knife.

"The sea warlock Artemis gave us this knife for our hair. You need to plunge this knife through the prince's heart. As soon as his blood touches your feet, your legs will turn back into a fishtail and you can go back to the sea."

Holly shook her head, but another sister spoke up. "Father misses you terribly, and so do we. Come back. There is nothing for you here. You've already lost your beautiful voice, don't throw your life away too."

Holly lowered her head as the third sister drew in a sharp breath.

"Hurry up, the sun will be up soon."

Holly bit her lip but walked below deck into the prince's chamber, where he lay sleeping with his new wife. Standing next to his head, she looked down at Trouble's sleeping face.

Oh, she thought sadly, if only you knew who I was.

She raised her arm. Before she could plunge the knife into his heart, though, he stirred, murmuring in his sleep.

"Holly."

Opening her mouth in a silent sob, she let the knife drop to the floor. She bolted to her cabin and hid from her sisters.

The waves lapped gently against the side of the ship, travelling through the open window and accompanying Holly as she waited for the sunrise. She stared into the passing night, fearful of the unknown path she would take.

Would she ever see them again? Her father, her sisters, Trouble, and Foaly. Perhaps in a different life. Not the evil wizard nor Lili, but everyone else. It wouldn't even have to be as father and daughter, mergirl and human or pet and owner. Wouldn't that be nice?

The first ray of sunlight crept over the ship's deck until it reached Holly's cabin, flooding it with light. Holly, however, was gone.

The End.

* * *

 **A/N** : Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little retelling of the Little Mermaid. Let me know what you think, I might one day try my hand at another fairy tale. Any suggestions?

Until next time, take care!


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